Tottenham went into their clash with Chelsea needing just a point to secure Premier League safety, with the Blues arriving on the back of seven games without a win. It didn’t go to plan, however, as Spurs fell to a 2-1 defeat that left their fate to be decided on the final day.
For long periods, Tottenham were the better side — controlling possession, generating the superior xG, and creating several threatening moves in attack. Ultimately, though, individual mistakes and poor finishing cost them, as has been the case too often this season. For those watching without allegiance, it was still an engaging London derby, with both teams pressing high and looking to play at speed.
The football, however, wasn’t the only thing drawing scrutiny.
Carragher takes aim at diving culture
Speaking on Sky Sports during Chelsea’s win, Jamie Carragher expressed mounting frustration at what he sees as players increasingly throwing themselves to the ground under little or no contact. The former Liverpool centre-back pointed to a specific moment involving Moises Caicedo and Micky van de Ven, arguing that the Chelsea midfielder greatly overplayed the challenge to earn a foul.
Carragher named several players he felt had been guilty of the same throughout the match, and later suggested Richarlison was practically the poster boy for that kind of behaviour.
Spurs can’t exactly claim to be the problem
While Carragher’s wider point about simulation in the Premier League is one many fans will agree with, Tottenham have arguably been on the receiving end of that problem more than most this season. Time and again, Spurs attacks have been broken up after opponents won soft fouls from minimal contact — hardly a profile that fits a side benefiting from such decisions.
Tellingly, Tottenham and Aston Villa are the only two top-flight clubs not to have been awarded a single penalty all season. Singling out Pedro Porro also felt questionable — the Spaniard won just one foul in the match, compared to four for Caicedo and three for Cucurella.
As tends to happen in a feisty London derby, the officials were drawn into controversy, and Spurs came off worse for it. They were denied what many felt was a clear spot-kick, and Liam Delap avoided anything more than a booking for a foul on Djed Spence. Had either of those decisions gone the other way, the outcome — and Tottenham’s survival picture — might have looked considerably different.
